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Former NFL star Deion Sanders vowed to praise God like there is no tomorrow in a recent Instagram post.
But the star of OWN's Deion's Family Playbook isn't limiting the glory to God in just one Instagram post. Rather, the praise flows through his social media feed.
"God was there when many of yall talked about me,doubted me,lied on me,cheated me,turned your back on me,bet against me,hated on me,stole from me and tried to kill me physically & verbally. THAT'S WHY I PRAISE HIM LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW! #Truth @revjahwar@twh_phd" he wrote in one post.
In another, he shared, "Get Ready baby your time has come! You're about to receive your breakthrough & your blessing. Stay focused and don't look back at yesterday trials & tribulations. You got this baby. It's your time but please don't forget how u made it thru & who brought u thru. In JESUS Name let us all shout AMEN!!! SEND THIS TO EVERYONE THAT NEEDS TO HEAR THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE RIGHT NOW.#Truth @revjahwar."
In the NFL, Sanders played for the Atlanta Falcons, the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Redskins, and the Baltimore Ravens, winning the Super Bowl with both the 49ers and the Cowboys, according to his website.
In baseball, he played for the New York Yankees, the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, and the San Francisco Giants.
Now the versatile athlete coaches kids through his Truth program.
"I'm walking in my calling!#Truth #Truthcamp2016," he says of the program.
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Herbal viagra could leave your whole body stiff—as in dead.
Yohimbe, which claims to treat erectile dysfunction, depression and obesity, was among 15 supplements that Consumer Reports identified Wednesday as having side effects that can seriously sicken or kill users in gruesome ways, including organ failure, cancer and cardiac arrest.
In terms of yohimbe, an independent panel of doctors and dietary supplement researchers found that it can raise your blood pressure, cause rapid heart rate, as well as increase the risk of seizures, liver and kidney damage, heart problems, panic attacks and death.
More than 90,000 vitamins, probiotics, minerals, herbs, botanicals and a growing list of "natural" substances crowd drugstore shelves today, but there's little evidence to prove they have any real health benefits.
The Annals of American Medicine even told shoppers to "Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements" in a 2013 report that ruled there is no evidence to support the idea of supplements having positive effects—and in fact, some were harmful.
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Posted: 29 Jul 2016 Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG
We just got another extremely disappointing GDP number. It was being projected that U.S. GDP would grow by 2.5 percent during the second quarter of 2016, but instead it only grew by just 1.2 percent. In addition, the Census Bureau announced that GDP growth for the first quarter of 2016 had been revised down from 1.1 percent to 0.8 percent. What this means is that the U.S. economy is just barely hanging on by its fingernails from falling into a recession. As Zero Hedge has pointed out, the “average annual growth rate during the current business cycle remains the weakest of any expansion since at least 1949″. This is not what a recovery looks like. In addition, Barack Obama remains solidly on track to be the only president in all of U.S. history to never have a single year when the economy grew by at least 3 percent. Every other president in American history, even the really bad ones, had at least one year when U.S. GDP grew by at least 3 percent. But this has not happened under Obama even though he has had two terms in the White House. The following are the yearly GDP growth numbers under Obama. They come directly from the official website of the World Bank… 2009: -2.8 percent 2010: 2.5 percent 2011: 1.6 percent 2012: 2.2 percent 2013: 1.5 percent 2014: 2.4 percent 2015: 2.4 percent Does that look like a “recovery” to you? Of course not. And many are anticipating that this latest extremely disappointing GDP number will discourage the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates any time in the near future…
The disappointing report could keep the Federal Reserve on hold longer as it considers another interest rate hike. The Fed lifted its key rate in December for the first time in nine years but has held it steady since.
According to the pundits in the mainstream media, this was supposed to be the year when the U.S. economy finally returned to “normal”, but that has not happened at all. In fact, in recent days we have gotten a spate of bad news about the economy. We just learned that the homeownership rate in the United States has hit the lowest level ever, and Gallup’s U.S. economic confidence index has fallen to the lowest level so far this year. With the election coming up rapidly, this is the kind of news that Hillary Clinton definitely does not need. She needs to be able to sell the American people on the idea that the Obama years have been very good for the U.S. economy. If things take a sharp turn down in the coming months, that may be enough to cost her the election. So far, Hillary Clinton’s economic agenda has not received that much scrutiny, but the truth is that she hopes to increase taxes in a whole bunch of ways which would be very harmful for the economy. The following comes from an excellent piece by John Kartch and Alexander Hendrie…
Hillary has endorsed several tax increases on middle income Americans, despite her pledge not to raise taxes on any American making less than $250,000. She has said she would be fine with a payroll tax hike on all Americans, she has endorsed a steep soda tax, endorsed a 25% national gun tax, and most recently, her campaign manager John Podesta said she would be open to a carbon tax. It’s no wonder that when asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos if her pledge was a “rock-solid” promise, she slipped and said the pledge was merely a “goal.” In other words, she’s going to raise taxes on middle income Americans. Hillary’s formally proposed $1 trillion net tax increase consists of the following: Income Tax Increase – $350 Billion: Clinton hasproposed a $350 billion income tax hike in the form of a 28 percent cap on itemized deductions. Business Tax Increase — $275 Billion: Clinton has called for a tax hike of at least $275 billion through undefined business tax reform, as described in a Clinton campaigndocument. “Fairness” Tax Increase —$400 Billion: According to her published plan, Clinton has called for a tax increase of “between $400 and $500 billion” by “restoring basic fairness to our tax code.” These proposals include a “fair share surcharge,” the taxing of carried interest capital gains as ordinary income, and a hike in the Death Tax.
Taxes tend to be a pet peeve of mine, so looking at that list of proposed taxes definitely makes me cringe. If Donald Trump wants to hit the Democrats really hard on the economy, all he has to do is point out the fact that Barack Obama is going to be the only president in American history to never see 3 percent economic growth for an entire year, and he had two entire terms in which to try to turn things in a positive direction. Sadly, things are very likely going to be worse for the economy no matter who wins the election. Under Obama, our national debt, our trade deficit, and most of our other long-term economic problems have gotten much, much worse, and so the table is set for a major economic disaster during the next presidential administration. And if what I have to share about the future of America in my new book is correct, we are definitely moving into a “perfect storm” that will not just be economic in nature. The things that are coming are going to shake this nation to the very core, and I believe that we will soon face the consequences for decades of exceedingly foolish decisions. So in the end, we may look back and long for the days of 1.2 percent economic growth, because what is on the horizon is going to make that look like a Sunday picnic.
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Help! I choked as I said this word, bungling my way past my seatmate to hustle to the lavatory at the back of the airplane for the umpteenth time.
I was flying home from a recent trip to Africa, and my stomach was looking for every way possible to expel the mischievous amoeba creating chaos in my digestive tract. The common translation for this experience is food poisoning. I dislike asking for help, but this nice woman was quick to oblige, especially since I'd already used both of our "gag bags."
I lost count of how many times I ran to the tiny lavatory. By the time we landed, I was pale, weak and dehydrated. Obviously I needed help, despite my reluctance to admit it.
Do You Ask for Help?
How do you feel about asking for help? Maybe, like me, you find it difficult to admit you need help, let alone ask for it. Or perhaps you are gracious and vulnerable in seeking, receiving and even giving assistance. Regardless of how you feel about asking for help, here's something important to consider: Helper is the name Jesus gave the Holy Spirit at the beginning of His tutorial about the third person of the Trinity in John 14-16. In John 14:16, Jesus said, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, that He may be with you forever."
The word used in John's Gospel for the Helper is the Greek word paraklete. When I first began studying Jesus' introduction of the Holy Spirit to His disciples, I realized that paraklete was an abundantly common word, used hundreds of times throughout the New Testament. So I was frustrated at first, trying to figure out what exactly He meant by this idea of "Helper" or "help." Then I realized that the New Testament usesparaklete in many different ways to illustrate the Helper is in our lives to help us in innumerable ways!
How the Helper Helps
In my life, I've experienced the Helper giving me wisdom on dealing with my kids, strength to keep my mouth shut, insight on constructive conversations, confidence when insecurity feels overwhelming and much more!
The Holy Spirit is our daily help. Take a few minutes to consider all the places where you can ask for heavenly help—and then do it! Maybe you could use some help today with balancing all the things you need to get done in a short amount of time. Maybe you need healing in your body, health in your emotions or wisdom in your finances—heavenly help is available for the asking!
Sarah Bowling is the founder of Saving Moses, a mission organization dedicated to reducing infant mortality around the world. She is also a Bible teacher, international speaker, author and pastor. Visit sarahbowling.me.
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America is in a fight for her destiny. Our upcoming presidential election is about more than which personality or political party we prefer. A well-known Christian author has written a well-circulated blog suggesting Christians shouldn't vote for Donald Trump. His reasons center around the poor witness and example of Christianity he believes Trump has demonstrated, and his fears that this might continue, should he be elected. (As you may know, Trump professes to be a Christian.)
Others, even major Republican leaders, have also refused to support Trump on the basis of "principle." Many good and sincere people are struggling to decide where they stand on this important decision. Though we cannot, as a non-profit ministry, endorse a candidate, I do have some thoughts that may help as you think and pray about your choice for president.
1) First, like the aforementioned Christian author, I passionately desire to have a God-honoring, Christian President; and obviously I, too, would prefer one that exemplifies Christian principles.
2) I have also been appalled by some of Trump's rude, mean-spirited, and even vicious attacks on others; I've also been disappointed at times by the pride I've seen in him.
3) I am as suspicious as anyone when the timing of a person's "conversion" to Christ occurs when it is conveniently needed, whether it be prior to an election or when going before a judge; and I, too, am always looking for the fruit such a conversion should begin to manifest.
4) I do not agree with all of Trump's positions.
But here's where I differ with some Christians: whether or not a person speaks kindly, would provide an appropriate Christian witness or, frankly, even professes to be a believer—though, again, this would always be my preference—are not my primary litmus tests for presidential candidates or important positions of national leadership. I'm glad General George Patton helped save the world during World War II, foul mouth and all.
Like all of us, I've known many individuals I would thoroughly trust in leadership or government who did not profess to be a Christian. And, on the other hand, I've known many professing Christians whom I would never trust to govern. (The names Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama come to mind.)
I fear that sometimes we Christians insert the same religious mindset into elections that has divided the church for centuries: If one's theologies and religious standards don't agree with ours, we refuse to walk or work together. It seems as though many Christians have the mistaken belief that partnering or working with someone means we agree with and support everything they believe. How absurd ... and how costly.
As an example, millions of Christians in the last presidential election refused to vote for Governor Romney because he was a Mormon. Their Christian principles, ideals and theology simply wouldn't permit it. And what did those well-meaning, "principled" decisions give us?
We Christians need to take another look at the principles we allow to guide us at the polls! We've "principled" ourselves into irrelevance and, ironically, a national loss of biblical principles. We must remember we are not electing a religious leader. And we will always be electing a flawed person to lead a flawed people. Unfortunately, the perfect candidate doesn't exist.
When voting, consider not just the candidate, but also the issues we face. Which candidate is going to make the decisions that are best for the whole nation? And whose policies more closely align with the Word of God? Here is my suggested list of the ideals we should allow to steer us when we vote (not including the obvious intangibles of intellect, wisdom, and such):
1) God-honoring. Does this person at least profess to believe in and honor God?
2) The sanctity of life. Where does this candidate stand on abortion?
3) The Supreme Court. What type of judges will this person appoint? At least two (and perhaps up to five!) Supreme Court Justices will be appointed by the next president, which will tip the balance of power for decades. Life, morality, family, religious freedom, the Constitution and our very destiny as a nation are at stake. Reining in a renegade Supreme Court is of the utmost urgency.
4) Family. Where does this individual stand on marriage and the family unit?
5) America's Judeo-Christian heritage. Does this candidate recognize, honor, and want to perpetuate this?
6) Our military. In light of the tenuous state of affairs around the world, would this individual build our military or cut it and make us weaker?
7) Limited government. Does this person believe government, higher taxes, and state-run programs are the solution to most problems, or do they believe government should always be the last resort and should be decreased in size?
It is absolutely critical—indeed, in my opinion it is a sacred responsibility—that all Christians vote in this election, and that we vote for the person who most fulfills these qualifications. Remember that no one is perfect and that we arenot endorsing everything about the person for whom we vote. But never again should we lose by default, giving further control of our nation to those with whom we disagree most and who stand in opposition to God.
Never.
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Hillary Clinton’s pick for running mate, Virginia senator Tim Kaine, could hurt her support with pro-Israel voters as the senator’s record on Israel comes under fire.
Kaine, the Democrat vice presidential candidate, strongly supported the US deal with Iran, boycotted Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress, was endorsed by the J-Street lobby, and was one of only 17 senators who refused to sign a letter urging the US president to increase the US military aid package to Israel.
Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, issued a harsh critique of Clinton’s pick.
“Whether it’s his vote for the Iran deal, which paves the way to a nuclear-armed Iran, or his proud support of the progressive anti-Israel J Street agenda which earned him their enthusiastic endorsement, Senator Kaine has shown how out of touch he is on the dangers facing our country,” Brooks said in a statement. “A Clinton-Kaine White House would continue the same failed policies that have made the U.S. and our allies around the world less safe.”
The official PAC of J Street, a lobbying group with a reputation for hostility against Israel, donated $133,382 to Kaine’s previous campaigns, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Brietbart News also reported that Kaine appointed to his state’s immigration commission Esam Omeish, president of the Muslim American Society, an organization later described by federal prosecutors in 2008 “as the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in America.”
The American Islamic Forum For Democracy, an anti-terror Muslim organization, criticized Kaine’s lack of vetting.
“Omeish has repeatedly represented an Islamist agenda (political Islam) in his activism. The ideology of Islamism runs against the interests of a strong national immigration policy and American security,” AIFD said in a 2007 statement.
“Whether this will overcome the strong predisposition of the Jewish community to vote for the Democratic ticket, no matter who is on it, remains to be seen,” Abraham Miller, emeritus professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati, wrote. “Nonetheless, the choice of Tim Kaine gives ammunition to those who stand firmly on the non-traditional side of the political divide in the Jewish community.”
Approximately 70 percent of American Jews vote Democrat in US elections.
Hillary Clinton’s Jewish outreach director meanwhile attacked Trump’s record, telling The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that Trump’s willingness to accept a one-state solution in Israel “contravenes longstanding US foreign policy, it’s contravening the GOP platform, it contravenes Israeli policy.”
“There has been a tremendous amount of reaction, both independent as well as from the Republican side, who have actually really called out their position and said that it’s been a problem,” said Sarah Bard, a top Clinton staffer.
Clinton favors a two-state solution. The Democrats are expected to ratify a broader than usual platform at their convention this week that will recognize Palestinian rights to sovereignty and “dignity.”
As a Jewish boy growing up in the 1950s, it was always exciting to me to think about wearing the tallit. This is because in order to wear the tallit, you had to have had your bar mitzvah.
For years, you would study Hebrew and Jewish history, and Jewish customs and traditions. Then on the day of your bar mitzvah, you would wear a special new tallit and read from the Torah (the five books of Moses, which are the first five books in the Old Testament) and the haftarah (a series of selections from the books of the prophets, called the Nevi'im). You would also give a d'rash (exposition or exegesis) on the Torah reading, and then end with reading a letter of thanks to the rabbi, cantor, and board of the synagogue. The tallit you received at your bar mitzvah would be worn throughout your life for all the major life events. It would then be passed on to your son in your memory when your life here on this Earth ended.
To a Jewish person, the tallit is symbolic of one's Jewish identity because it is used in every major life cycle event. But to those not born Jewish, it is symbolic of the Jewish Messiah. More and more, as I travel to speak in churches, I meet people who are seeking to understand the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. They will blow the shofar, pray the Shema, and don a tallit during prayer. At the synagogue I lead, we keep tallitot (the plural form of tallit) for guests to use during the service, and many are eager to do so. Coming under the tallit often helps a person seek Yeshua without distraction and commune with the Ruach HaKodesh (Spirit of God) in a whole new way.
I do not believe that as followers of Yeshua we are obligated to pray under a tallit, but I have heard many people say that coming under a tallit in prayer helped them deepen their intimacy with Hashem. The tallit does not have special power in itself, but it reminds us of God and His Word, in which we find all power.
So if the tallit can be this significant in a person's relationship with God, you may be wondering: "What exactly is it and how is it used?"
The tallit is the Jewish prayer shawl. It is rectangular and generally white with blue or black stripes, and it has tassels on each of its four corners called tzitzit. The tallit can be large (tallit gadol) and cover a person's entire body, or it can be small (tallit katan), reaching only to the shoulders. But it must be long enough to be worn over the shoulders as a shawl and not just around the neck as a scarf. For a Jewish person, it is typically used in every major life cycle event—from circumcision to bar/bat mitzvah to marriage and even death. But it is most frequently used in prayer.
Tallitot are generally worn at morning Shabbat services and during morning prayers. An exception is the Kol Nidre, the evening service on the eve of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), during which the tallit is also worn. A person wearing a tallit will generally keep it draped over his shoulders, but during times of prayer he will use it to cover his head.
Traditionally men have worn the prayer shawl because Jewish law did not obligate women to wear them and the Torah discourages women from wearing men's garments. But now there are many styles and colors available that are very feminine, so both men and women wear tallitot. The stripes on the tallit are usually blue, black or purple, but they can be any color of the rainbow. The tallit is classically made of wool, cotton or silk, but it can be made out of any material so long as the prohibition against combining linen and wool is observed.
The wearing of the tallit commences in the Torah. We read in the 15th chapter of the Book of Bamidbar (Numbers):
"Adonaispoke to Moses saying, "Speak to Bnei-Yisrael. Say to them that they are to make for themselves tzitzit [fringes, ציצית] on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and they are to put a blue cord on each tzitzit. It will be your own tzitzit—so whenever you look at them, you will remember all the mitzvot [commandments] of Adonai and do them and not go spying out after your own hearts and your own eyes, prostituting yourselves. This way you will remember and obey all My mitzvot and you will be holy to your God. I am Adonai your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am Adonai your God." (Num. 15:37–41, TLV).
In ancient times, people in most cultures wore some type of blanket-like garment to protect them from the sun during the day and the cool air at night. So the command in Numbers 15 was not for the Jewish people to start wearing this type of garment but rather for them to add the tzitzit on the four corners, which would set them apart from other nations. Even today, Bedouins wear abayas, which can resemble the tallit but lack the tzitzit.
The purpose of the tallit was, in fact, to hold the tzitzitot, or fringes. The tzitzitot were to be tied on each of the garment's four corners so that when we look at the tallit, specifically the tzitzit, we would remember the commandments of God. Today there are T-shirts onto which the tzitzit may be tied at each of the four corners, illustrating again that the tzitzit are most important.
Traditionally on each tzitzit is a blue cord called the tekhelet. According to some, the blue tekhelet is to remind us of God's creation, the ocean, the sky, the tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were written and His throne of glory. This particular color blue was once very hard to acquire and was thus used on special garments.
During antiquity, it was derived from a type of snail found near the Aegean Sea. It has been thought that after the destruction of the second temple, knowledge of the actual source of the dye was lost. For this reason, it is now common for the tzitzit to have only white fringes. It is believed that some of the species that carry the dye have been found, but that is not universally accepted as fact.
There are places in Israel today where you can purchase the tzitzit with the tekhelet. They can be tied on to the four corners of a garment to make a tallit. During one of the tours of Israel that my wife, Racquel, and I co-led with two other rabbis over twenty years ago, we met an Israeli storeowner who sold the tzitzit with the tekhelet.
I purchased a tallit gadol (large tallit) and a tallit katan from him, and I still wear them today. There are also many websites that sell tallitot, some of which include thetekhelet. To learn more about how to purchase a tallit, you can visit our website atwww.GesherInternational.com.
Excerpted from The Tallit: Experience the Mysteries of the Prayer Shawl and Other Hidden Treasures, by Charlie Kluge (Charisma House, 2016).
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The Lord Jesus Christ was the greatest motivator and example of living a purposeful life that the world has ever seen! He lived by the Scriptures since He is the living Word of God (John 1:1), and this is why all the greatest books on leadership and management operate with latent biblical principles, whether intentional or not.
The following seven principles are primary ways Jesus empowered and released purpose:
1. He asked questions.
Instead of just giving the answers to life's questions, Jesus demonstrated that the best way to teach people was to ask them questions. As a matter of fact, He asked over three hundred questions and only gave answers to three of them. When we allow people to answer questions, it reveals how much they really know, what's really in their heart and involves them in the process of discovery that enables them to remember and learn better.
2.He had goals and objectives.
If a person has no specific goals or desired outcomes, they will never know if they have succeeded or not. If a person has no vision or mission, they are clueless and have no idea what their final destination will be! In contrast, when Jesus began His ministry in Nazareth the first thing He did was announce His vision statement which was found in the words of the prophet Isaiah (Luke 4:18 and Is. 61:1-2). Furthermore, Jesus operated with objectives and goals which enabled Him to fulfill His mission and vision with a daily understanding of what, when and how to function (Luke 13:32).
3. He invested his time with those who bore fruit.
The Pareto principle teaches us that 80 percent of the work done is accomplished by only 20 percent of the people in any given church or organization. That being said, Jesus was wise and only invested most of His time with disciples who bore much fruit instead of with the crowds. (John 15:1-7 shows that He expected His followers to bear much fruit if they abided in Him.) Even though the Pareto theory was not yet written, Jesus knew that He would get the most results from pouring into a few rather than focusing on the many. Although He ministered to the crowds, the gospels clearly show that He invested most of His time with His twelve apostles and then the seventy disciples (Luke 9:1, 10:1).
4. He confronted superficial religion.
Jesus did not like superficial religion and attacked religious leaders who misrepresented the heart of His Father (Matt. 23). He insisted that religious leaders allow God to first cleanse the inner man before focusing on outward rituals and religion (Matt. 23:26; Mark 7:15). Jesus also taught that religious tradition often nullifies the word of God (Mark 7:13). Since He confronted superficial religion instead of placating it, He was able to raise up powerful men of God who demonstrated the truth with signs and wonders (Acts 3:6,7).
5. He confronted political power.
When Jesus was with Pilate He confessed that the primary purpose He had was to be recognized as the King (John 18:37). He was not afraid of offending those loyal to Caesar (which is the main reason He was crucified). He understood that the things that ruled external culture had to be shifted to another king and different gatekeepers if true systemic change was going to take place. Furthermore, He told Pilate that the power of His kingdom did not emanate from Rome but from His father (John 18:36). He did not say that His kingdom is not in this world but that it was not of this world!
6. He was motivated by compassion.
Jesus did not heal merely to demonstrate His lordship but because He was moved by compassion (Mark 1:41). He was great because He had empathy and connected to the pain of those around Him (Heb. 4: 15). Any leader without strong feelings of love for his people will not be motivated to serve and release them to greatness.
7. He was willing to die for His purpose.
Life is not worth living if there is no transcendent purpose worth dying for! Jesus not only believed in His mission but also was willing to die (on the cross) in order to fulfill it (Heb. 12:2).
Consequently, He was able to instill and inspire such passion in His followers that most of the original twelve apostles died a martyr's death while preaching the gospel. Truly, the seed of the early church was the blood of the first and second century church. Even today, two thousand years later, thousands of Christ followers continue to die for the cause of Christ, which is the main reason Christianity became the largest and most formidable movement in the history of the world!
Joseph Matterais an internationally known author, futurist, interpreter of culture and activist/theologian whose mission is to influence leaders who influence nations. He leads several organizations, including The United States Coalition of Apostolic Leaders (uscal.us). He also has a blog on Charisma magazine called "The Pulse." To order one of his books or to subscribe to his weekly newsletter go tojosephmattera.org.
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